2018 is also a year of regional elections. Molise, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Val d'Aosta, Trentino Alto Adige and Basilicata, but for now we take an in-depth look at the electoral programmes of the candidates for the Lazio and Lombardy regions, which will be held on 4 March.
Sunday 4 March is not only election day for the general election — the legislative vote that will give rise to a new parliament and the eighteenth legislature. For Lazio and Lombardy it will be an election day, and citizens will also vote to elect the president of the new regional council. During 2018, however, other equally important regions will also go to the polls: 22 April will be Molise's turn, while by the end of 2018 the regional assemblies of Ele will also be renewed.
In Lombardy the contest features three main contenders. Attilio Fontana, former mayor of Varese, is the centre-right's choice to try to inherit the mantle of outgoing governor Roberto Maroni: also a member of the Lega, he is considered a "moderate", although a recent gaffe has led many to revise that view. The Partito democratico (Pd) is pinning its hopes on Giorgio Gori, a journalist and mayor of Bergamo. The Movimento 5 stelle (M5s) has instead chosen Dario Violi, 32, an outgoing regional councillor. Running independently is the Liberi e uguali (Leu) candidate, Onorio Rosati.
Much of the new regional legislature will hinge on defining the new forms of greater autonomy that Lombards called for in the consultative referendum of 22 October last, and this is of particular concern to mountain communities. Attilio Fontana's programme promises "specific recognition of Alpine communities" and envisages "more resources and strategic investments to halt the depopulation of the valleys".
Giorgio Gori has included a specific paragraph on the subject within the chapter on autonomy. The Democratic candidate would like a dedicated mountain affairs assessorship and new resources derived from a reform of water concessions: measures he argues are necessary because, until now, "there has been a lack of will to enhance the work of mountain communities — their role as guardians of even the smallest communities must therefore be strengthened". This would also apply to small non-mountain municipalities.
For Violi and the Movimento 5 stelle, "the mountains must once again become one of the main players on Lombardy's economic chessboard"; among the priority objectives here too is the establishment of a fully funded mountain assessorship with significant investment capacity, the allocation of all revenues from water concessions to mountain territories, and specific tax arrangements linked to areas at risk of depopulation — as well as hydrogeological risk prevention, the reorganisation and maintenance of woodland areas and alpine trails, incentives for responsible, environmentally aware mountain tourism and cycling tourism, and investment in traditional farming and livestock rearing. Fontana, too, focuses on local produce — from the mountains and beyond — speaking of "healthier eating habits and sustainability in the sign of tradition".
On the waste question, Fontana is clear and to the point: "In Lombardy we want only Lombards' waste." Violi, by contrast, sets himself the goal of "zero waste", to be pursued through maximised separate collection by extending the door-to-door system with precise billing mechanisms designed to make citizens accountable and reward virtuous behaviour: "The resulting reduction in the quantities of waste to be sent for disposal will make it possible to implement the gradual abandonment of incineration." "Zero waste" is also Gori's target; he believes the Region must support municipalities' efforts to improve the integrated and comprehensive door-to-door separate collection system which, as well as respecting the environment and the territory, makes citizens accountable and strengthens their civic sense. "We will also commit to funding the creation or consolidation of reuse and repair centres that can provide employment for skilled craftspeople and young cooperatives." On this point Rosati promises: "We will introduce a new waste management system to achieve 90 per cent recycling within 5 years."
Fontana promises to focus on renewable energy "to improve air quality." According to Gori, "a new intervention strategy is needed to direct new investment towards large hydroelectric plants, limiting the proliferation of micro-derivations in isolated locations, and remedying the planning errors relating to plants for the production of energy from biomass and biogas." Violi believes action must be taken on three fronts "to achieve the complete abandonment of fossil fuels by 2050": a significant reduction in overall energy consumption; a gradual transition to electricity as the energy vector across various sectors and end uses; and a considerable increase in energy production from renewable sources. Rosati is highly ambitious: "We want for Lombardy," he says, "complete energy sustainability, public and efficient water management, and new rules on air quality. We will ensure that land consumption is genuinely reduced to zero, we will push for the swift conversion of heating systems, and we will introduce strict controls on emissions."
The pain and anger left by the Pioltello rail accident have opened up numerous debates. Whoever wins the regional election will urgently need to commit to improving and ensuring the safety of the public transport network. For Gori, "clear priorities must be set for future investment in favour of intermodal and more sustainable transport options: trains, electric cars and bikes, alongside traditional bicycles, the use of which must be encouraged and supported." There is also a need to tackle maintenance of state roads, adopt a spending review for major infrastructure projects — which also includes completing the Pedemontana motorway, albeit in a modified and cost-reduced form —, modernise the rail network, and invest in electric mobility.
Violi devotes an entire chapter of his programme to sustainable transport, and here too there are three lines to follow: expanding the range and quality of local public transport services with the aim of making them increasingly competitive and appealing compared with private vehicles; promoting the creation of quality pedestrian zones and networks of safe, functional and genuinely usable cycle paths; and facilitating the spread of car sharing, bike sharing and car pooling. Furthermore, the M5s candidate explains, for private vehicles "it is necessary to plan straight away the restrictions on circulation that will be progressively imposed on polluting vehicles over the next 15 years, and to encourage the uptake of zero-emission vehicles."
Fontana instead proposes discounted fares for commuters and new trains that are more punctual, clean and safe, because "mobility is economic development", while for Rosati the priority is an integrated system of trains, metro, surface transport and interchange car parks, and a change of governance at Trenord.
There is room for integration and social rights in the programmes of the four candidates: Gori promises support for local authorities in joining the Protection system for asylum seekers, with a homogeneous distribution of applicants across the territory, achieved if possible through a concrete system of incentives, Italian-language teaching for migrants, access to education and training, employment integration, within an overall framework in which the holder of international protection is recognised and facilitated in accessing national and regional welfare.
Violi focuses on equal opportunities, because "it is essential to recognise the value of difference and female freedom and to promote new forms of social coexistence, fairer and more respectful of differences": actions are therefore proposed to remove the obstacles preventing women from effectively participating in political, social, economic, cultural and professional life and in political-institutional offices, gender-based healthcare with the reopening of family planning clinics, gender education in schools as an essential tool for the prevention and combating of violence.
"Family" is the key word for Fontana with regard to social policies: among the objectives, gradually broadening the pool of beneficiaries of the "free nurseries" measure, also to allow mothers to re-enter the world of work more easily.
Reception and women's rights are among the points in Rosati's programme: widespread reception for a peaceful and structured approach to immigration, coordination between regional and national policies for managing flows, and the repeal of the anti-mosque law on one hand; stable contributions for parental leave for both fathers and mothers on the other.
In Lazio, the outgoing governor Nicola Zingaretti is standing again on behalf of a united centre-left (from the Democratic Party to Liberi e uguali), to which the centre-right responds with the name of Stefano Parisi, who was already Beppe Sala's challenger last year in the Milan municipal elections. The Movimento 5 Stelle is running with Roberta Lombardi, one of the movement's most prominent figures. There is, however, a fourth contender: the mayor of Amatrice, Sergio Pirozzi, who will run independently with the Fratelli d'Italia party.
It is the waste issue that plays a large part in the electoral campaign for the Lazio Region, which has been plagued for many years by serious disposal problems. Nicola Zingaretti, the outgoing president, is counting on the approval within the first six months of a "zero waste" strategy aimed at raising the separate waste collection rate to 70 per cent, with 57 million euros of investment over three years available to all municipalities to build recycling centres, composting and home-composting facilities, agricultural reuse of composted waste, agreements with large retailers to reduce waste and projects against food waste, separate waste collection on beaches and recovery of marine litter. This framework would also include the training of three thousand new professionals in the green economy sector. As for Rome Capitale, Zingaretti envisages special support with funding for separate waste collection, the implementation of a special project for pay-as-you-throw tariffs and the creation of a municipal centre for reuse and preparation for reuse.
Roberta Lombardi points out that "since the closure of the Malagrotta landfill the current outgoing administration has never adopted a regional waste plan. Our first step will therefore be to put in place a programme for the coming years." A programme that involves the revision of the regional waste plan incorporating Rome Capitale's zero-waste plan, a plan to prevent waste production (door-to-door collection and recycling), and financial support for municipalities that implement door-to-door collection and apply pay-as-you-throw tariffs.
For Stefano Parisi, the centre-right candidate, the recipe is fairly simple: "The plants are there, we just need to reactivate them, starting with the one in Colleferro. We need to reactivate the mothballed incinerators and increase separate waste collection. It takes the courage to decide."
Stefano Pirozzi for his part guarantees a path towards regional self-sufficiency: "we will reform the waste cycle, ensuring that treatment and disposal plants are able to prioritise recycling, reuse and the recovery of value from waste."
On environmental protection tout court, Roberta Lombardi states that "the objective is to let our region breathe again." How? By funding measures against hydrogeological instability, protecting the coastline through the approval of a multi-year beach replenishment plan to counter erosion, establishing regulatory plans for river basins and aqueducts, with financial support for monitoring water resources. And with something new: an energy citizens' income, a contribution towards the use of alternative energies that would help save on bills and spread renewables.
On this point Zingaretti goes into more detail, and proposes the adoption of a regional strategy for the prevention of and adaptation to climate change that also affects urban regeneration, a regional cycling mobility plan to create at least one hundred kilometres of new cycle routes across Lazio, with cycle stations, bike parking and rental facilities, and interchange with the train network. The outgoing president is also counting on an aqueduct plan, the rehabilitation of the Tiber through new purification plants, the completion of measures against hydrogeological instability with funding of 90 million euros, and the creation of new protected areas such as the Volsci park and the interregional park of the Tiber and Aniene rivers.
Pirozzi focuses on water resources: "We will proceed with the creation of an integrated water management strategy at regional level, to reduce waste and costs and improve the service across the whole territory. Wasting it is a crime against future generations."
According to Parisi, the first thing to do is a new planning law "because urban regeneration and urban decorum depend on clear rules, certain rules, which are essential in order to make investments."
The environmental issue is of course closely linked to that of mobility and transport, ideally modern and public: according to Parisi, Cotral (the Lazio transport company) and Atac (Rome's municipal transport company) need to be relaunched with significant investment. "Atac cannot be privatised at the moment, but significant investment needs to be made. And then the stalled funds for the Rome–Lido line need to be unblocked."
The transport chapter is also fundamental for Roberta Lombardi, because "we spend a large part of our time on the journey between home and work. Making it more efficient and cleaner is a duty, to make our days easier above all and to reorganise our spaces and our needs." The strengthening of rail transport, the rationalisation of the service provided by Cotral, the reduction of private vehicle travel through policies centred on remote working, the provision of remote services and the introduction of the figure of the regional mobility manager, together with a plan of extraordinary and routine maintenance works on the regional road network.
Zingaretti recalls that "every day 800,000 people enter and leave the city of Rome; at stake are the quality of life of citizens and the economic competitiveness of our region." In this context too, caring for the railways is important, as is modal integration and the redevelopment of stations and interchange hubs: one billion euros for strategic works and road safety, development of the suburban rail network in Rome, support for public transport in Rome Capitale with 240 million euros a year on top of resources for the Atac service contract, and resources for the completion of metro lines C and B. Also planned is a feasibility study for the construction of a new airport in Lazio, to potentially complement Fiumicino and Ciampino.
Abandoning old vehicles and focusing on safe and efficient ones, prioritising rail transport and working with municipalities to draw up a regional mobility plan are Pirozzi's objectives.
The theme of gender equality also stands out in the Lazio electoral campaign. Zingaretti proposes a fully-fledged strategic plan, encompassing the consolidation of the network of anti-violence centres and refuge houses, a minimum income to support the paths of women leaving violent situations, and the establishment of a regional observatory against discrimination linked to sexual orientation or gender identity. Also planned is support for municipalities in receiving refugees, and new initiatives for the social reintegration of prisoners.
Roberta Lombardi brings the citizens' income to the regional level as well, made up of a direct component, through the payment of an economic support allowance, and an indirect one through personalised projects for the family unit covering social and health services, training and professional requalification. And then measures for the family and to guarantee the right to housing.